Last week our local infant school, along with every other state school up and down the country, received its much-heralded gift of a King James Bible from the secretary of state for education (Tory donors fund Gove's mission to send Bible to schools, 16 May). Has Michael Gove actually met a child recently? Does he care about biblical literacy? If so, he might have sent Trevor Dennis's The Book of Books, an entrancing rendition of the biblical narrative in lively, child-friendly story form, a must-have resource for every school library. Instead, we get the hefty King James, destined, as one teacher remarked, to become a doorstop within weeks. Coming from the minister currently presiding over the systematic dismantling of RE in schools, this is an exercise in gesture politics at its most cynical.Rev Frances EcclestonPriest in charge, St Columba Crosspool, Sheffield

• I write following our school's receipt of an outsized King James Bible to celebrate the Bible's 400th anniversary. I am aware of the influence this book has had on the UK's history and culture, but I am at a loss as to why it was considered appropriate to send this to a primary school in a deprived area. The language contained in this version of the Bible is challenging for an adult to read, let alone for a primary-school pupil.

To me this underlines how ignorant the education secretary is about the reality of life in contemporary primary schools. I would urge him to spend some time personally in one of today's primary schools so that he has a better informed perspective as to what resources would prove useful. I do not mean a 15-minute meet and greet, I mean sustained and regular attendance at a school. As a student teacher, I am required to spend 18 weeks in schools as part of my training. How many weeks should the secretary of state for education be required to spend in school, given that the future of the country's education policy rests in his hands?Caroline ChristieWoking, Surrey